Construction work on the final phases of a £80m ($134m, €97m) renovation project at the National Museum of Scotland will begin this summer. A total of 12 new galleries will be created by 2019.

The latest stage of the project will cost £14m ($23.5m, €17m) and adds international art and design as well as science and technology exhibits. Construction work is scheduled to be finished by 2016, with Metaphor serving as the appointed designers.

The ten new galleries are intended to “champion excellence and innovation” and provide inspiration for the scientists, engineers, artists and designers of today and tomorrow. Display space will increase by more than 40 per cent, with three-quarters of the 3,500 objects not previously on permanent display – including a recently acquired rare cabinet painted by the renowned artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

A final phase will add Egyptian and Far Eastern exhibits, although details on the final costs and timescales for this have yet to be finalised – but it should be completed within the 15-year timeframe envisioned in the original masterplan published in 2004, according to the museum.

Both phases are smaller in scope than the three-year, £50m ($84m, €60.7m) redevelopment which was completed in 2011. Since then, the museum has attracted 4.5 million visitors in two years.

The museum told Attractions Management that visitor numbers have largely been sustained since a spike seen in the year after reopening. The final phases of renovation work are aimed at maintaining and building upon current visitor levels.

The latest revamps are being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, although the museum is awaiting a final decision on the exact amount it will receive in the next few weeks. It will also seek private donations from the likes of trust funds, while a phase of public donations will be opened at a later date.

To date, more than £60m ($100.7m, €73m) of investment has been provided by the Scottish Government, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and upwards of 1,000 donors.